Revenge
by BettyLovesCupcakes
Summary: Justin Hammer is a man of his word. With Pepper and Tony's relationship growing stronger, their world is about to fall apart when Justin kidnaps Pepper. And there's one thing she didn't get to tell Tony... She's pregnant... Read And Review Please :)
1. Chapter 1

**REVENGE**

_**SYNOPOSIS: Justin Hammer is a man of his word. With Pepper and Tony's relationship growing stronger, their world is about to fall apart when Justin kidnaps Pepper. And there's one thing she didn't get to tell Tony... She's pregnant...**_

_**Read And Review.**_

**Hey. I loved the film! **

**I have a system where if I get 3+ reviews, then I'll update. That way, I know if people are liking the story and if I am going in the right direction.**

**Thanks and read and review + enjoy! :D**

**CHAPTER ONE**

"Hello?" Pepper said into the receiver, picking up the phone. She leaned back slightly in her chair and took a sip of water. No need to say, she was far more relaxed at work than she was before.

"What you doing?" Tony asked.

Pepper smiled, sighing. Ever since the incident with Whiplash, Tony and her have...well, been an item. She grew even closer to him after the New York Battle with Loki, which she didn't know anything about. Pepper loved that, heck, she might even love him. Who knows?

"I'm working Tony - some of us do."

"And I work saving millions of lives." He replied quickly, he cleared his throat. "No, seriously Peps-"

"-Peps?" She repeated, eyebrows raised.

"Peps. It' my nickname for you."

"Since when?"

"30 seconds ago." He quickly retorted. "Seriously though, skive off work, come round mine and we'll have some champagne and maybe even have-"

"-Tony. I'm working."

"You can work on me. Seriously, hunt for gold. First clue - it's in my pants."

"That's vulgar."

"That's me." He sighed audibly. "When will you be finished?"

"I'm just doing the finance calculations and forwarding it to payroll. After that, I'll be done." She smiled. "I'll see you in... two hours."

"Time's started now. Tick Tock. Bye!" He hung up the phone.

Pepper chuckled to herself and straightened up looking at the numerical figures on the computer screen. She looked at her mobile, thinking whether or not to send the text. _Think it through rationally... Well, be honest - How much more rational can I get? I took the test three times... _She inhaled sharply and picked up her phone, typing in the text:

TONY. I HAVE SOME NEWS TO TELL YOU LATER - IT'S VERY IMPORTANT. XXXX

She re-read the text before sending it to him. _Should I have said I love you? _She smiled to herself, shaking her head. She began continuing her work, admiring how well the profits were up. She jumped slightly when she heard a knock on the door. She frowned slightly, knowing there were no appointments today.

"Come on in." Pepper said loudly. The door opened and Pepper looked up at the man standing there. She felt her blood run cold and her hands go numb. There were another two men standing either side of him, both of stocky build, holding guns in their hand. _He _had a smile on his face, looking at her victoriously. Pepper exhaled shakily, reaching for her phone slowly. The man on the left fired shots above her left head and she yelped slightly crouching down. She saw his feet walk around the table and she looked up at him. She got it. She remembered what he said. That was why he was here. That was why she felt an uncountable fear run through her body and numb her movements. Rationally, she would've ran out the door. Or screamed for help. But the fear and dread took over, leaving her helpless. She remembered...

_"I get it. I see what you're doing. You're trying to pin this on me, huh? That's good. That's good. You're starting to think like a CEO, taking out the competition. I like that. You think you're making a problem for me ? I'm gonna make a problem for you. I'm gonna be seeing you again real soon."_

She looked up at him, slowly getting up. He kicked her back down and she groaned. He leaned down towards her.

"You wanna know something, Pepper? Prison... It _changes _people. Some for the good- some for the worse. Unfortunately for _you, _it's been for the worse." He grabbed her arm and tugged her up, gripping her arms tightly. "I am a man of my word."

She looked at him and then kneed him in the groin, he groaned slapping her in return. Pepper gasped struggling to get free. Justin nodded to one of the men who brought out a cloth, walking towards her.

"Tony is going to find me. There are security cameras and-"

"-and the cameras are dead as is your receptionist." He sneered at her.

She looked at him with wide eyes, before she felt something cover her mouth. She tried to scream, but instead just felt a huge nausea rush over her and was quickly consumed into the darkness. He last thoughts were about her child and if Tony would ever find out. Or find her...


	2. Chapter 2

**REVENGE**

**Hey. Thanks for the response - wow! I'm glad you all like the story and hope you enjoy the next chapter.**

**Btw, I was meant to click Tony on Character instead of Pepper. This Fic is Pepperony. **

**So, on that note - Read, Review And Enjoy :)**

**CHAPTER TWO**

"Hey Peps - See even on your answering machine, I use a nickname! Anyway, you _always _pick up your phone, so I'm gonna assume your on the toilet or doing your make up or something? I'll call back in ten. Okay. L-Bye." Tony groaned slightly as he hung up. _Did I nearly say 'Love you'? _ He walked around looking at the suits. Iron man has changed his life, enormously. No explanation needed. However, he wondered if he never became Iron Man would he and Pepper still be going out? Would they have ever happened? He clapped his hands out loud.

"JARVIS - I'm impatient. Can you get up the security cameras at Pepper's office? I want to see why she's not returning my call..." He announced out loud.

"Sir, I'm afraid all of the security cameras in the building have been shut down. I'm unaware as to why." He explained back to him.

Tony stopped pacing and looked up, his eyes darkened. "JARVIS - What's the last image you can pick up, before they went? Bring it up on screen." He tapped his feet impatiently as the image on screen was blurred and slowly started becoming more clear. He squinted slightly until he saw who was there. "Shit..." He muttered, racing out. "JARVIS - Contact Rhodey. Contact Fury. Get them both to there now!"

* * *

Pepper groaned, as her eyes slowly flickered open, squinting at the bright light. _How am I hung-over, I never even- Oh god. _The memories came back. Seeing Justin Hammer in the office. She registered the pain in her face and remembered him slapping her. She craned her neck slightly, trying to see where she was. The bright light was beaming in from a window, with bars over it. _So it must be morning...I've been out all night... _Her eyes scanned the place trying to figure out where the hell she was. It looked like a small bedroom, the mattress she was lying on was lumpy and creaky. She sighed trying to move her hands, only finding them tied together. She looked down at her feet, finding them exactly the same. The door adjacent to her, was locked no doubt. She swallowed heavily trying to get rid of the lump in her throat. _Don't cry...Don't cry. He'll find you..._

_TWO MONTHS AGO..._

_"Tony! I got your message - what's the emergency?" Pepper asked, running in, heels in her hand. She earlier received a text from him telling her to hurry to the mansion. _

_"I'm in here!" He called out from the kitchen._

_She frowned walking towards the kitchen, she turned the corner and stopped dead in her tracks. Her mouth fell open and she found herself lost for words. The table was set with champagne and three plates of food. Garlic prawns in one plate, Salmon and risotto in another and a fruit platter on the other - All of her favourite meals. "T-tony - what..."_

_He guided her to the chair and sat her down. He took the chair opposite her. "It's a miracle nothing got set on fire, although I admit JARVIS helped with the ingredients."_

_"How did you know I liked all of these?" She asked, taking a sip of champagne._

_He smiled at her. "I've always listened to every single word you ever said. Trust me - I'm not that much of a an egotistical genius."_

_She laughed and took his hand. "Thank you - seriously Tony, Thank you so much."_

She heard the door lock click and looked up fearfully, torn away from her thoughts. She looked up as Justin walked in.

"Morning!" He said in a sing song voice, grabbing a chair. "Me and you are going to have a little talk..."

* * *

The car screeched to a halt and Tony opened the door, running out, not bothering to lock it. He raced into the building seeing police around.

"Rhodey!" He shouted, ignoring the stares he was getting.

"Sir, we need to ask you a few questions..." A middle aged police officer began.

"Yeah in a bit." He spotted Rhodey and pushed his way towards him. Rhodey turned and looked at him with concerned eyes.

"Tony, what the hell is going on? JARVIS said that Pepper is missing?"

"Justin Hammer." He replied bitterly. "Look, Rhodes, I need you to try and find any footage of what happened here. If-If there was a vehicle, where it's heading."

He nodded in return, crossing his arms. "Don't worry, I'll get onto it. I'll call you when I find something."

Tony nodded and went to walk into the office. "Hey!" A female voice called. He turned around frowning to see Natasha Romanoff standing there, arms crossed, stoic look on her face.

"What are you doing here? JARVIS called-"

She tutted. "Director Fury is busy. I'm here to deal with this. What's going on?"

He huffed walking forward. "Follow me." He shoved past a police officer who was looking at a body on the floor. _Pepper's receptionist... _"Jesus Christ!" He muttered. He walked into the office seeing everything on the floor, papers torn up and the computer smashed on the floor. He looked on the desk seeing Pepper's phone on there. He grunted out loud kicking the table in frustration. Tony turned around, exhaling shakily. "Are you gonna help me find her?"

Natasha looked at him coldly. "Yeah."

"Well, let's get started. We need to find the son of a bitch...and I'm going to kill him."


	3. Chapter 3

**REVENGE**

**Hello! Thank you SO much for all the reviews, follows and favourites :)**

**I'm so glad you are all liking the story and hope you enjoy the next chapter...**

**This chapter is slightly short. The next chapter will focus on Tony, whereas this is focusing on Pepper.**

**Read, Review and Enjoy :)**

**CHAPTER THREE**

"Me and you are going to have a little talk..."

Pepper slowly got up, looking towards the door. Any chance of escaping was out of the question as a stocky man walked in with a chair in one hand and a machine gun in the other. Justin looked at her and motioned to the chair to sit down, which she did. He took the other chair and placed it opposite her, sitting down on it.

"What do you want?" Pepper asked bitterly.

Justin chuckled. "Are you suffering from memory loss or do you not remember what I-"

"-I remember." She replied. "I thought you were in prison."

"No thanks to you." He spat at her. "I have lost all my money, my business... But, I have made friends in high places. Friends that can get you out of jail... Friends that have the same grudge as you do..."

"I-I..." She stuttered. _Grudge... Against who? _ "Tony is going to find me. You're not the only one with friends in high places."

He chuckled. "I'm counting on it. You fucked up my life." His eyes darkened and he leaned forward pulling out a knife. He hovered it near her and she leaned back. "I'm not going to hurt Tony, because there is one man who wants to do that. And, believe me, the _brilliant _Tony Stark doesn't stand a chance... What do you think his reaction if I killed you in front of him? The one thing that he cares about... What about... If I killed your baby."

Pepper froze. She felt a chill run down her spine and her stomach twist..._How could he know..._ She exhaled shakily. "I don't know what your talki-"

"-Oh come on!" He shouted at her, standing up and kicking his chair back. He walked towards her and squatted down, holding the knife against her cheek. "Do you _really _think I just waltzed into your office and took you?! I have been planning this for months! I have watched your _every _move... Everything you eat, drink, say... Going through your trash - And I know what a positive pregnancy test looks like."

Pepper shook her head, defiantly. "I'm not pregnant."

"Okay..." He said, sighing heavily. He moved the knife towards her stomach and she inhaled sharply. He looked up at her raising an eyebrow, then move his hand back. She held her breath. "Okay..." He said again, he moved his hand quickly towards her stomach.

"NO!" She yelled out, leaning as far back as she can, hands in front of her stomach protecting her new born child. He stopped the movement and moved the knife back up to her cheek.

"I want to hear you say it." He whispered to her.

Pepper swallowed, trying to blink back the tears that were forming. She couldn't believe that she was in this situation. She couldn't believe how helpless she felt... "I'm pregnant."

Justin sighed, lowering the knife. "There. That wasn't so hard, was it?" He stood up, stretching his legs slightly. "Now, I just need you to sit tight and relax. Don't try any funny business _Virginia _otherwise I will make your stay here less pleasant for you and er, more pleasant for me - if you get my drift." He turned around and grabbed a bag, which one of the men were holding. He chucked it on the floor by her feet. "There's water in there and a BLT sandwich - I hope you're not vegetarian." He slammed the door shut, leaving Pepper cowering in the chair.

Pepper let out a gasp letting the tears fall. She could not believe she was here, putting not only her, but also her unborn baby in harm's way. All she wanted was for Tony to know that he was going to be a father. That's all. Just for things to go back to the way they were...


	4. Chapter 4

**REVENGE**

**Hello! Thank you SO much for all the reviews, follows and favourites :)**

**I'm now super excited for Iron Man 3 - new trailer rocks!**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget - Read, Review and Enjoy :)**

**CHAPTER FOUR**

_Tony clenched his fists walking slowly in front of him. "Let her go..."_

_Justin smiled at him, lifting up a gun and pointing it at Pepper. She looked at him through fearful eyes before he heard the bang-_

"No!" Tony shouted out looking around. He was on the sofa in his living room. He looked around, his eyes scanning the room. "Pepper? JARVIS!"

"Sir, James Rhodes is knocking on the door, shall I let him in, Sir?" The AI's voice said. Tony groaned. _Just a dream..._

"Yeah." He said, standing up stretching slightly. He looked at the clock to see it was 11am. He only fell asleep at 7am. Tony looked at Rhodey who walked in, he went to speak before there was another knock on the door. "JARVIS?"

"Natasha Romanoff is at the door, shall I-"

"-Yeah, yeah." Tony muttered. He looked at Rhodey. "Anything?"

Rhodey sighed sitting down. "Tony, I could only access the cameras in the building."

"And?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I'm not authorised to look at the ones on the street."

"I am." Natasha said walking in, holding a USB stick.

Tony stood up. "What do you mean you are? You are what?"

Natasha walked over to his computer and plugged in the USB."SHIELD can get access to all security cameras within the area, JARVIS can you scan all the images and tell us once you've pulled anyone matching Justin Hammers or Peppers description?"

"I will." He replied.

Tony looked at the computer and then Natasha. "So, what- what do we do now?"

"We wait." She replied, crossing her arms.

Tony scoffed, shaking his head. "Brilliant. Pepper is in danger. She _needs _me and I'm just going to sit down and wait!"

Rhodey walked toward him. "Look, there's not much else we can do. Once we get the image, we can track the car, find her location and then we got him."

Tony nodded, rubbing his eyes. He exhaled slowly. "Right, I'm going to take a nap, I'm shattered. Rhodey you tell me the instance you get anything, please?"

Rhodey nodded in response. Tony turned and walked down the corridor into his bedroom, sniffing slightly, leaving Rhodey and Natasha standing there, awkwardly. Natasha sat down watching the laptop scan through the images, Rhodey took a seat opposite her.

* * *

Tony shut the door behind him and let out a slight sob quietly. He let the tears roll down his face now that there was no one watching. He literally felt like someone had ripped his heart out. The one thing that has finally gave him reason to live properly. The one person who he always cared about and would die for was in danger and he was completely helpless. He walked over to the bed and laid down, looking at Pepper's earring on the bedside table...

_THREE MONTHS AGO..._

_Tony sat opposite Banner. "Like, literally you can have the whole floor to yourself - The lab is pretty well equipped and if the green guy wants to pop out to say hello-"_

_"-I don't think that'll be happening anytime soon." Banner said, taking a sip of his coffee._

_"Tony!" Pepper's voice echoed, stepping out of the elevator._

_Tony and Banner stood up in unison looking at Pepper. She looked at Tony and let out a sigh of relief, running up to him. _

_"I thought you were-Well, I knew you weren't and I had a missed call, but I saw it on the news, on the plane-and it was- Well, I thought..." Pepper said feverishly. She looked at Banner. "Hi, I'm Pepper Potts." She shook his hand._

_"Nice to meet you - I'm going to go, give you two some privacy." He nodded at Tony, before heading into the elevator. Once the doors closed, Tony embraced Pepper in a hug and kissed her passionately._

_Tony broke away from the kiss and looked at Pepper. "Jarvis rang you when I was putting the nuke through the portal cause if I was going to die - which I thought I was - you're the last person I would've wanted to have spoken to. My last words would've been to you."_

_Pepper smiled at him, leaning against his chest. "And what would you have said?"_

_Tony smiled. "I'll up Stark Towers to 50% of your baby." _

* * *

Rhodey and Natasha sat opposite each other in the living room. The silence was awkward and they both kept their eyes glued to the computer screen, waiting for JARVIS to announce that he has found a match.

Rhodey looked up at Natasha and cleared his throat. "So, when did you start working for SHIELD?"

She looked up at him coldly. "That's not really any of your business."

"Look, we're going to be here for a while so I thought it'll be good to get to know each other."

Natasha inhaled sharply, drumming her fingers on the table. "I started young - when I was ten."

Rhodey nodded. "I joined the air force when I was eighteen. My dad worked there and he was my idol. "

"Does he still work there?"

Rhodey looked down. "No, he died nine years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Natasha whispered. "My parents died when I was nine - house fire."

"So, how are you and your boyfriend getting along?"

Natasha frowned, tilting her head to the side. "Boyfriend?"

"Yeah." Rhodey replied. "Tony said that - I forgot his name, the archer guy?"

"Barton..."

"Barton. That you and Barton were an item."

Natasha shook her head, smiling slightly. "He's like a brother to me. I owe him a lot."

Rhodey smiled at her. "Cool. Okay. That's er, good to know."

"What's good to know?" Natasha asked, leaning back.

"Nothing. You got a good friend, everyone needs good friends."

"Are you trying to flirt with me, Rhodey?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rhodey snickered slightly, shaking his head. "No... Why? Did you think I was?"

Natasha smiled at him. "No. Not one bit." She knew that was a lie.

"Well, In that case I was going to-" Rhodey started, but got interrupted when Tony's phone started ringing. He looked at Natasha who stood up to wake Tony up. "JARVIS, whose calling?"

"I'm afraid the number's blocked - Did you want to answer it?" JARVIS replied.

"Yes JARVIS." Tony said, walking in stretching his arms out. Tony walked to the table and picked up the phone, clicking the loudspeaker button. "This is Tony Stark speaking."

"Hello Tony." Justin Hammer's voice said. Tony froze feeling his blood run cold and an uncontrollable rage run through him.

"JARVIS - trace call." Rhodey whispered, crossing his arms frowning. Natasha whispered something into her earpiece.

"Justin, I'm going to make this real easy for you. If you took my money, my suits... I would've put you in a coma and that'll be it. But now that you took Pepper... I'm going to put you in grave and I'll even piss on it and dance Gangnam style, cause I'll be so goddamn happy when I'll break your neck!" Tony spat at him, his fists clenched. Rhodey looked at Tony through wide eyes, this time it really has happened. Tony never gets angry like he is now, but knowing how much he cares about Pepper, He's crossed the line.

"That's great Tony, It really is. But this conversation isn't about me... " Justin drawled through the speaker. Tony could just imagine that son-of-a-bitch smirking.

"Tony?" Pepper's voice whispered, full of fear. Tony's eyes widened, feeling a sense of relief wash over him at knowing she was alive.

"Pepper! Pepper, are you okay? Where are you? Has he hurt you?" He asked, pacing back and forth.

"Tony...I'm pregnant." She whispered her voice trembling. Just as she let out a slight sob, Tony heard a thud and Pepper letting out a gasp of pain. Tony stopped pacing and felt dizzy. _Pregnant... pregnant... baby...I'm going to be a father... Pepper's going to be a mother -I should be taking care of her!_

"Pepper!" Tony shouted, his face scrunched up in rage. "I swear to god-"

"- You swear to god that you're going to find me Tony. Put me in a Grave - I'll just take your unborn child with me. You think I'm your only problem? I have a message for you from a dear friend of mine, with a name of an orange... Things are going to get nasty real soon - so watch your back." He spat at him before hanging up, leaving Tony, Rhodey and Natasha staring at the phone, absorbing what they just heard...


	5. Chapter 5

**REVENGE**

**Thanks once again for all the reviews, follows and favourites :)**

**This chapter is focusing on what happens with Pepper, leading up to the phone call in the previous chapter...**

**I am really enjoying writing this story and am planning a sequel to this, following the events that happen. (Y)**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget - Read, Review and Enjoy :)**

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Pepper walked around the room, trying to figure out any way out or if there was anything that could be used as a weapon. All that occupied the room was a single mattress, the two chairs and the now empty sandwich wrapper and half full bottle of water. Her shoes were gone, presumably so that she didn't stab him with the heel. She was glad that the restraints were gone from her feet and hands, but it didn't help - she was still stuck in this place. She craned her neck looking out the window, trying to see what she could observe through the bars. She squinted trying to see if she could recognise the building adjacent to her, if there were any signs of movement, but there wasn't. She wiped her eyes and placed her hands on her stomach, taking a seat. She shook her head. It was unbelievable. She could be a mother. Yesterday morning, she was thinking about how to tell Tony that they are going to be parents and now she isn't even sure if she'll make it out alive. This was never how she imagined it would all turn out, Tony never even knew about the threat that Justin made to her. He has enough to worry about, having nightmares constantly since the New York incident...

_TWO WEEKS AGO..._

_Pepper woke up gasping. "Tony, what-" She started, before seeing that he was just staring at her. "Tony?"_

_He let out a shaky breath, taking her face gently. "Are you okay?" _

_Pepper frowned. "Yes... Did you, did you have another nightmare?"_

_Tony inhaled sharply, clearing his throat. "Yeah, standard nightmare as usual. I need a kiss goodnight."_

_She smiled, slightly relieved that he was back to his normal sense. She turned around, giving him her back. "Go back to sleep Tony, I'm fine. I need to get up early-"_

_"-oh come on!" Tony whined. "If we stayed up all night, you'd miss out on a few hours asleep, catch up on that and get into work a few hours late."_

_"And where exactly is the common sense in that?" She mused. _

_"It always works for me."_

_"I'm not you."_

_"You're not Iron Man." He said chuckling, He rolled over, wrapping his arm around her. "Pepper..." He whispered into her ear._

_"Stop that..." She warned him._

_"Or what?" He challenged, tickling her ribcage. She tried stifling her giggle, before nudging him with her elbow. _

_"I mean it." she laughed, turning around facing him. _

_"Pepper, I just can't help misbehaving. I mean I'm just terrible, really terrible. I'm outta control!"_

_"I see where you're going with this, it's not going to work-" She got cut off by him kissing her lightly on her mouth, she kissed him back wrapping her arms around him..._

Pepper jumped slightly hearing a bang outside. Of course _he'll _be back in here soon. She sighed, this time last week was when she took her pregnancy test and got the positive. She inhaled sharply, trying to calm herself down. She wouldn't give Justin the satisfaction of letting him know he got to her. Pepper thought it through and knew that she would kill to protect her baby. She stood up and placed her ear by the door, trying to listen to the muffled conversation. She gasped and stumbled back when she heard the lock in the door and the key turning. She stood up straight, preparing to stand her ground. She watched as he walked in, smiling, holding a phone in his hand. She stared daggers at him.

"I'm going to get straight to business - take a seat." He said, motioning to one of the chairs. Pepper walked forward and sat down, not taking her eyes off him. He wasn't going to intimidate her. She wasn't weak. He nodded, sitting down opposite her, shuffling his seat forward till his knee was virtually touching hers. "Hope you don't mind the close contact - I know I don't."

"What do you want?" She asked, clearing her throat, speaking loudly.

"I want you to do a favour for me. I'm going to ring Anthony and I need you to tell him your good news." He explained, his smile widening. Pepper swallowed, feeling the blood drain out of her face. Tony, was no doubt, worried about her being missing. Finding out she's pregnant would topple him over - just what Justin wants. To see him suffer.

She shook her head defiantly. "I'm not going to do it."

He shook his head, sighing dramatically. He stood up grabbing the chair and dragged it right next to her. He took a seat and motioned for the man standing in the doorway to point his gun at her. He leaned towards her and wrapped his arm over her shoulders. Pepper instinctively craned away from him. "If I want to touch...I'll touch you. You defy me and he'll put a bullet hole through you."

Pepper blinked back tears, breathing shakily. She clenched her teeth and turned to the left to face him. "Go to hell!" She spat at him through gritted teeth. He chuckled before grabbing her face and kissing her on the lips. She instantly yelled, banging her fists against him full force, trying to get him off her. He chuckled, breaking away and whispering into her ear. "I can do whatever the hell I want to you and I want Anthony, The _amazing _Tony Stark, to see me every time he looks at you-" He got cut off as Pepper punched him, connecting with his jaw full force. She stumbled off her chair and groaned, mentally thanking Tony for teaching her how to throw a punch. She quickly stood up, but froze when she saw the man cock the gun. She turned, looking at Justin who spat out blood and looked at her with anger in his eyes. He walked towards her and grabbed her by her hair, slamming her against the wall. She let out a gasp of pain, looking at him fearfully.

"Give me the knife!" He yelled at the guy with the gun. The man walked forward pulling out a knife that looked like it could cut through bone. Pepper let out a shudder of fright. Justin turned to her and held the knife against her stomach. "You are going to tell him that your pregnant - correct?"

Pepper looked at him with hate in her eyes. _Stay Strong... _"No," She gasped out, trying to keep her ground.

Justin nodded, pushing the knife against her stomach, until she felt a sharp prick. "How about I just cut the baby out of-"

"-OK!" She gasped out loud, letting the tears fall from her eyes. "Fine! I'll do it, just, just don't..."

Justin handed the knife back to the man, which was laced with a little blood and she looked away, praying that the baby was okay. He wrapped his hand around her neck and with his other hand dialled the number. "Any funny business and I'll break your neck." He clicked a button, letting the sound of the dialling tone echo in the room. "Loudspeaker so you can hear..."

"This is Tony Stark speaking." The voice said from the phone. Pepper silently gasped, feeling happy to hear his voice.

Justin smiled. ""Hello Tony." He looked at Pepper, raising an eyebrow.

"Justin, I'm going to make this real easy for you. If you took my money, my suits... I would've put you in a coma and that'll be it. But now that you took Pepper... I'm going to put you in grave and I'll even piss on it and dance Gangnam style, cause I'll be so goddamn happy when I'll break your neck!" Pepper inhaled sharply, hearing Tony speak with such venom in his voice. This clarified how much she meant to him.

"That's great Tony, It really is. But this conversation isn't about me... " Justin drawled, holding the phone to Pepper. She swallowed and tried to steady her voice.

"Tony?" She whispered, feeling like she was going to pass out any second.

"Pepper! Pepper, are you okay? Where are you? Has he hurt you?" Tony asked, his voice panicking. Pepper inhaled sharply trying to calm herself down. She looked at Justin who mouthed to her : _SAY IT_

"Tony...I'm pregnant." Pepper said out loud, feeling her voice breaking. She let out a sob before she felt a fist connect with her face, she let out a gasp of pain stumbling to the floor. She looked up at Justin, trying to crawl back before her grabbed her face and head butted her. She let out a gasp and prayed to god that Tony would find her. She wasn't sure how much more of this living hell she could handle... She blinked furiously trying to fight away the drowsiness and pain that was slowly consuming her. She let out a slight sob, giving up and letting it consume her... Hopefully it will all be over soon...


	6. Chapter 6

**REVENGE**

**Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favourites :) Keep them coming! I find reviews helpful, that way I know if the story is heading in the right direction and if the readers (that's you!) are liking it.**

**I am really enjoying writing this story and have plenty of chapters planned. I literally cannot wait to start posting more, but there will be a slight delay until Wednesday, so hang on for the next one (Y)**

**The action starts in Chapter Eight :D**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget - Read, Review and Enjoy :)**

**CHAPTER SIX**

Tony sat down, his head in his hands breathing rapidly. The previous conversation echoed in his head "_Tony...I'm Pregnant"_ He inhaled sharply, silently cursing Rhodey and Natasha for being in the same room as him. The last thing he wanted was to be weak and cry. He wouldn't cry. He couldn't. He had to be strong for Pepper. He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. It was crazy how much he cared for her, sure, there was always an unmentioned chemistry when she was his PA, but back then he was still a playboy. Playing up to his womaniser ways, scared to commit and now he is going to be a dad. _I'm going to be a dad. A dad. _He felt a warm sense of longing rush over him, he vowed that'll he would always be there for his child unlike his own father. The long sense of warming was quickly replaced by a chill up his spine, when he recalled what Hammer had said; _"Put me in a Grave - I'll just take your unborn child with me." _Things were different now, Justin was different. Tony quickly stood up and looked at Rhodey.

"JARVIS - any trace yet?" Tony asked the AI, trying to calm himself down. He frowned realising how much he cared for something that he only found out about minutes ago...

"I'm afraid not sir, all previous captured images were deleted, all I have right now are the encryptions which I am trying to match to any positive trace of Justin Hammer or Miss. Potts."

Tony grunted in frustration and kicked a chair, sending it flying across the room. "Goddamn it!" He yelled, walking over to the kitchen unit and grabbing a bottle of whisky. He unscrewed the lid.

"Tony, I don't think that's a wise idea..." Rhodey warned, walking over to him cautiously. "Look, I know how you're feeling okay and-"

"-Just, Just give me a second, okay? I'm drinking whiskey - not acid." Tony asked, taking a gulp of whiskey. He looked at Rhodey and Natasha. "I wanna be alone."

"That isn't the smartest idea for you. You can't be trusted alone." Natasha said, crossing her arms, standing back.

"Right, I forgot I'm grounded, aren't I? And Pepper is only pregnant!" He shouted, throwing the bottle into the wall sending glass shards flying everywhere. Tony slumped down onto one of the chairs, breathing rapidly.

Rhodey approached him, standing next to him. "Look, man. Pepper is my friend too, okay? And you are _not _ alone. You're not the only one wearing the suit." Tony looked up at him, weakly smiling. Of course Tony wasn't the only one wearing the suit. Ever since the incident with Vanko, Rhodey has been getting used to wearing the suit and updating it with the help of the armed forces. "Look, when we get a trace we're gonna get Pepper back, okay? We just can't barge in. We have to plan. We rush and we risk losing two life's."

_ONE MONTH AGO_

_"Tony?" Rhodey called, walking into the mansion. "Hey, man, you're here?" He walked into the living room and saw Pepper sitting down, head in her hands. He rushed over to her, sitting down next to her. "Hey, Pepper, you alright?"_

_She sighed heavily, wiping her eyes. She looked at him and her eyes were bloodshot. "Yes...No. God, I, I don't know. I mean, I know that iron man is his job, but that doesn't stop me getting worried about him... And... I keep thinking about New York and I'm worried in case he-"_

_"-Gets hurt." Rhodey said, taking the words from her mouth. "Or worse."_

_She nodded. "I'm glad someone else knows what I'm going through. It's just horrible...I don't want to see him killing himself..."_

_He chuckled. "Well, I'm not in a relationship with him, so..."_

_"Yeah" She agreed, chuckling. "Why did you put on the suit?"She asked, frowning, straightening up. _

_Rhodey smiled weakly, sighing slightly. "To help. Everything was out of control at his birthday and then... I guess he needed another hand."_

_Pepper nodded. "I worry too much. I should really be worried about the other 406 things that I have to do."_

_"Well, get your own suit - it might help get everything done." Rhodey joked with her. _

_Pepper raised her eyebrows."Yeah, right. That is not going to be happening any time soon."_

_Rhodey smiled, patting her on the back, standing up. "Could you tell Tony to ring me tomorrow?"_

_Pepper nodded, smiling at him. "I will. Thank you, Rhodey."_

_"Any time."_

Tony sighed, standing up. "Right, okay." He walked over to Natasha. "Where are the rest of the Brady Brunch?"

She rolled her eyes. "And by Brady Brunch you mean..."

"Legolas? Star Spangled Man? I know Banner is at SHIELD, but I could use some more help, here." Tony replied. He was wondering how when the Avengers needed him, he was there. But now that he was going through a crisis the only one to show up was Natasha, if _that _was even her real name. Tony didn't trust her. Not one bit.

Natasha pursued her lips, staring coldly at him. "_Barton _and Steve are on a mission in Germany. Thor, as you already know, is in Asgard."

"Well, what about Nick Fury?" Rhodey asked. "We're going to need more help to track her-"

"-Once we've traced Pepper and found out where they are, than I can do the rest of the work." Tony piped in, observing the broken bottle on the floor. "JARVIS, get dummy to clean up this mess-"

"-Fury has over ten different government agencies trying to shut us down and get more information on Asgard. He doesn't have a lot of spare time." Natasha replied sarcastically. She sighed, getting out her phone. "Give me a minute..." She mumbled, walking away into a corridor for some privacy.

"I'm going to be a dad. I think... Jesus, I think she was going to tell me last night. I got a text from her saying she needs to tell me something important." Tony mumbled looking at Rhodey, swallowing the lump in his throat. _If Pepper was safe... I'll make Rhodey the godfather... _He thought. He cleared his throat. "What if she-"

"-Hey, hey. Don't think like that!" Rhodey scolded him. "Come here." He said, hugging Tony. Tony sniffed a little. "Man up." Rhodey joked with him. Tony sighed pushing Rhodey away from him.

"Don't get any ideas..." Tony replied, wagging his finger at him. "JARVIS, any updates?"

"Sir, I have a possible image, but I am currently unscrambling it. I'll keep you updated." He replied.

"Right. Do that."Tony replied. Both he and Rhodey watched Natasha speaking on the phone, trying to hear what she was saying.

"Sir." Natasha said, speaking to Nick Fury. "We need to bring him in."

"What's the complication?" Fury asked sternly.

Natasha exhaled. "Pepper is pregnant..." If this had been any other kidnapping, then the plan would be simple. Track location and apprehend suspect. But now that Pepper was pregnant, that gave Hammer an advantage. _Bravo, Hammer. You have impeccable timing..._

There was a short silence on the other end of the phone. She could hear Nick muttering to someone. "I'll send a car, he'll be there in half hour. Make sure Stark doesn't do anything reckless." He said, before hanging up. Natasha smiled to herself. _It's impossible for Stark to not do anything reckless._ She looked over at Rhodey and Tony. Tony quickly turned around, pretending he was looking at something else. She rolled her eyes and walked over to them.

"We're bringing someone else in, to help formulate a plan." She announced.

"My plan was to attack and kill." Tony replied, turning around. Rhodey shook his head.

"Who are you bringing in?" Rhodey asked.

Natasha looked at both of them sternly, pausing for a second. She didn't want to bring him in, but he was one of the best agents they had. How Tony would react, she had no idea. After all, the whole team were lead to believe he was dead, hence why they managed to defeat Loki. She only found out straight after the battle, when her and Barton were called in. However, they wanted to keep it away from the rest of the Avengers. She inhaled sharply, looking at Stark. "Phil Coulson."


	7. Chapter 7

**REVENGE**

**Thanks for the reviews and following/adding story to favourites! It's great that people are enjoying this story. I completed this chapter last night, so I'm posting sooner than expected (Y)**

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**I am so immensely enjoying writing this story. I'm planning three parts with this being the first one, I won't spoil second part but I can tell you that the third story will be my version of Iron Man 3, based on bits off trailers etc. I've been reading stories on here and a load of people do a disclaimer. So I'll say now, that no brainer, all rights belong to MARVEL (obviously) :)**

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**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Pepper groaned, turning around slowly on the floor. Her head was pounding and she felt like she was going to throw up any second. She squinted by the window and saw that it was dark, so it must be the evening. She frowned realising that she must have been out for a few hours. She exhaled shakily, coughing and slowly tried to get up. She winced at the pain in her face, tenderly touching her left cheek. The pain vibrated through her body at the touch and she hissed in pain. _Who the hell does this? _She thought bitterly. Reviewing the events that have happened. She never thought of anyone as _truly _evil and Pepper always tried to see the good in someone, the silver lining of them. But, Justin Hammer, was the exception. Pepper didn't want sympathy, she didn't want to be the damsel in distress. But if that ever was the case, how sick and sadistic must a person be to threaten to kill your baby? When she thought of her baby, her blood ran cold, recalling the previous conversation - Tony knows. A part of her felt sorry for what was coming to Justin. She knows that Tony would be the best father and would do anything to protect her baby - including killing. Pepper stretched her arms out trying to ease off the numb ache in her shoulders, from lying on the floor, where Justin left her. She walked over to the door and banged loudly on it.

"Hey!" She shouted hoarsely, coughing. She heard heavy footsteps approaching and a key in the lock turning. She backed off slightly, shivering. The door swung open with a dull thud and one of Justin's Henchmen stood there.

"What?" He asked gruffly.

Pepper exhaled slowly. "I need to use the toilet." It's been a day and a half since she used the toilet and she was absolutely busting. She saw the man studying her, as if trying to decide if she was going to try and make a run for it. She sighed heavily. "Look, I'm not going to try and run. You've got a gun and I haven't got the energy to walk."

He nodded walking forward and grabbing her arm. "Follow me." He replied roughly. She inhaled sharply at how tightly he was gripping her arm. He walked her out of the room and into a dingy corridor. _This is a house... _Pepper thought as she stepped onto the carpet in the corridor. The walls were painted in a fading beige colour. She heard muffled conversation coming from downstairs. The man halted to a stop outside a door and opened it, showing a small bathroom.

"Five minutes." He ordered, pushing her in lightly. She stumbled forward and he slammed the door shut after her. She squeezed her eyes shut, breathing rapidly, trying to analyse her situation. How the hell was Tony going to find her? Pepper, realistically, had no way possible to get out of this place - wherever this place was. Justin couldn't have chosen a better time to kidnap her. Anytime, she would've fought back to the best of her ability, she would've tried to make a risky escape. But now that she was pregnant, he had the upper hand. Pepper got up and flushed the toilet, sniffing slightly. She walked over to the sink and ran the water, rubbing the soap in her hands. She looked up at the mirror and dropped the soap, letting out an audible gasp. She frowned at the woman in the mirror. Her left cheek was covered in a yellowish bruise and there was dried blood on the corner of her mouth. Her hair was tatty and ruffled up. Her eyes were bloodshot and heavily hooded with dark circles. She has been through hell and the evidence was staring back at her. She blinked back tears and turned the tap off, wiping her hands on her trousers, mentally thanking herself for choosing to wear a pant suit and not her usual attire of a skirt. She sighed and opened the door.

"I'm done." She whispered to the man, voice trembling. He grunted slightly, grabbing her arm and leading her back down the corridor. She walked along silently, feeling hopeless and numb. She approached the door of her _prison_ and the man opened the door, pushing her inside again. She turned around facing him. "You don't have to do this." She pleaded. _Why the hell not? I've already been threatened, embarrassed and forced to do what Hammer wants... Why not adding begging the guard to reconsider to the list?_ "Look, I know that-"

The guard chuckled and crossed his arms, looking at her with an amused look on his face. "I know that this isn't the right thing to do(!) I should think, you're pregnant and I should have pity. Maybe leave the door unlocked? You'll testify for me in court - Cut the shit, Virginia."

Pepper frowned. "Well...no. You're... You're on the _wrong _side. This isn't right! How could you just stand there and-and-"

"-And let him hit you and taunt you?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. Pepper stared back dumbfounded. "Look, lady, here's something you need to get straight. A lot of people may have kidnapped you, threatened you and your boyfriend comes blasting in and your safe. Well... this isn't that. There's only one way this is going to end and that's with someone dying. I also have a message for you - Hammer wants to talk to you, so don't go back to sleep." He grabbed the door, preparing to shut it. "Hammer is a man of his word - believe me."

Pepper stuttered, taken aback by the man's response. She was not expecting that. She looked at him coldly. "Fine." She muttered turning around and sitting down, jumping slightly when the door slammed shut. She closed her eyes feeling the tears escape. She just prayed that Tony was close to finding her...


	8. Chapter 8

**REVENGE**

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**CHAPTER EIGHT**

Tony shook his head in disbelief, looking at the man standing in front of him. Phil Coulson, dressed in his typical attire of a black suit and a slight smirk tugging on his lips. For a dead man, he looked very well.

"Hello, Tony." Phil said, bemused at the stunned look on Tony's face.

"Philly" Tony muttered, crossing his arms.

"Tony..." Natasha warned, taking a few steps forward, staring coldly at him.

"Miss Romanoff..." Tony mocked back, stepping back and squinting at her.

"Tony" Rhodey said loudly.

"Rhodey..." Tony said back mocking his tone.

"Mr. Stark" Phil said, smiling.

Tony nodded. "Good to see you...well." Tony looked at him dumbfounded. He turned to Rhodey. "I see dead people." he whispered to him. Rhodey nudged him and walked forward holding out his hand to shake Phil's.

"Nice to meet you Agent Coulson." Rhodey said politely. Phil nodded back.

"How far are we on the trace then?" he asked.

"This is ridiculous..." Tony muttered, chuckling.

"What is?" Natasha asked frowning slightly.

"Is something funny?" Coulson asked.

"Funny...Oh, yeah. I mean this _whole _thing has me in stitches. Erm...let's see. First Pepper is kidnapped by Justin Hammer. Then I find out she's pregnant and then I'm in The Sixth Sense cause you've come back to life and now I don't even trust Popeye, _more _than I didn't trust him before for lying to us about you being dead." Tony explained sarcastically.

"Well, technically I was in a coma... " Phil replied. He inhaled sharply, looking at the smashed bottle on the floor. "I'm sorry to hear about Pepper."

"Miss. Potts." Tony replied quickly.

"Sorry?"

"No first name basis - that's Miss. Potts to you"

Phil smiled a knowing smile at Tony and just nodded. There was a trace of a smile on Tony's face.

"All satellite images of the CCTV recordings have been deleted by Hammer, so JARVIS is trying the best he can." Natasha said, breaking the awkward silence.

"So... How exactly are you alive?" Tony asked Phil.

Phil exhaled slowly, stepping forward. "I _was _seriously injured. I was in a coma for a month. Fury used his initiative to pull the team together."

Tony nodded, squinting at him. "Right..." He turned away and paced slowly around the room, reviewing the situation. "So...why do we need you here?"

"I already ex-" Natasha started, before Tony waved his hands in the air, silencing her.

"I want to hear it from Frankenstein, himself."

Phil tutted. "I'm here to make sure you don't go off the rails. You're a flight risk and you are possibly on the verge of alcoholism. I understand that Pe- Miss. Potts, is very close to you but in all fairness, you can be rather reckless."

Tony walked slowly towards him, challenging him. "And if I have a shot? Fly away?"

Phil smiled at him. "Then I'll taser you and use you a footrest whilst I catch up with episodes of American Idol."

Tony blinked , flabbergasted, and opened his mouth to say something, but closed it. He nodded at him. "Cool."

"Sir" Jarvis interrupted. "I have a positive on the car which Justin Hammer was seen in. It's an Audi, black in colour and was made last year. There's a private number plate: JH2 JH3. I am running a trace on the car now to find its location."

"Audi?" Tony asked curiously . "Do I have that car?"

"I'm afraid not Sir."

"I will." Tony said. "How long till you've traced the location, Jarvis?"

"Five minutes, maximum." The AI replied.

Tony clapped his hands together, walking towards the stairs. "I'm going to get the suits powered up. Rhodey?"

Rhodey followed, patting Tony on the back. "See, man. We're going to get her back."

"Tony!" Phil shouted, urgently. Tony turned around and Phil nodded towards the screen. The message read: INCOMING VIDEO CALL - ACCEPT? CALLER UNKNOWN.

"JARVIS? Trace." Tony said simply. Jarvis started the trace as the screen appeared showing Pepper tied up on a chair with a blindfold on her.

Everyone in the room froze. Tony's eyes were fixated on the screen, fists clenched. Natasha whispered something into her earpiece and Phil straightened up observing the situation. Rhodey leaned in towards Tonys ears.

"I'm getting the suits powered up. Don't. Let. Him. Get. To. You." He warned him, whispering before turning and heading down the stairs.

"Is this thing on? Can he see me?" Justin asked, walking into the frame and peering into the camera. He saw Tony's face back and smiled at him. "Anthony! How are you, pal?"

Tony swallowed trying to restrain himself from shouting at the screen. He looked at Phil who stood behind the computer screen and he mouthed _Play Him Back At His Game._ Tony cleared his throat. Phil was right. Justin _wants _Tony to crack, he wants to see him crumble in front of him. Tony wouldn't give him that satisfaction and he wouldn't want to put Pepper under the strain of seeing him crack. Tony looked up and smiled. "I'm great Pal. Just having a few drinks with a few friends. How was prison?"

Justin blinked several times, taken aback by Tony's calm manner. He figured he was playing him back. Matching up to him. "Prison was..._Great. _Sort of, changed me though. Like, take for instance, before I wouldn't do this-" He walked towards Pepper and slapped her full force across her face, the chair wobbled to the side and Pepper let out a gasp of pain. Tony clenched his fists. _Stay Calm... _"But, now-well, You've seen for yourself."

"Drop the soap, much? We all know how much you'd like that?" Tony replied quickly, enjoying the reaction on Justin's face.

"Huh." Justin exhaled. "Yeah, right. Look how about we just get down to business."

"You're talking about business? I'm sorry, I thought your whole business has gone down the drain. Nonexistent." Tony said with a smirk. He looked over at Natasha who held up a note saying: GOT TRACE ON HIM!

"The whole point of this call, _Anthony, _is for you to witness the beginning of your fall and my rise-"

"-sounds dramatic." Tony cut in sarcastically, widening his eyes in mock fear.

Justin chuckled back. "You ain't seen nothing yet pal. See - First, I take your girl." He walked towards Pepper and placed his hands on her shoulders. She squirmed away, with no success. Tony's blood boiled at seeing him touch Pepper. "Then, I'll take your money..." Justin's hands moved down to her waist and Pepper let out a slight sniff. Tony felt the blood starting to form from where he was digging his fingernails in so tight in his palms. He stretched his hands out and clenched his teeth. "And then...I'll take your entire empire. Your suits- Everything." He walked forward towards the camera and smiled. "Adios, mi amigo."

Tony stepped back as the screen went blank. He looked up at Natasha and Coulson, who both looked at him sternly. "JARVIS - where's the location?" He asked, trying to steady his breath and not let out his rage.

"Sir, They are located in an isolated house in Sacramento. The house is five miles away from Sacramento River."

"How long will it take to get there?" Phil asked JARVIS.

"Approximately, 450 miles if you are driving. With the suit you can get there in less than half an hour, Sir."

Tony clapped his hands, jogging down the stairs. "Rhodey!" He looked round the corner at Rhodey who was ready in suit.

"Got it?" Rhodey asked.

"Sacramento." Tony replied, stepping onto the platform.

"Tony!" Natasha called running down the stairs, she turned the corner and looked sternly at both of them. "You can't go in unattended, we have to go together."

"Cross Country Family trip isn't my thing." Tony replied, shortly, suiting up.

"We have a plan." Phil replied coldly.

"So do I - Attack, Kill and Get my girl."

* * *

Pepper gave Justin a look of disgust as he took the blindfold of her. "Smart Move." She said sarcastically. "Video call, is the easiest way to trace someone."

"They'll be here in thirty minutes - I hope." He replied, untying her hands and legs, with a smirk on his face.

"Pepper frowned, hardly believing her ears. "What?" She whispered feeling sick. "You-You _want _them to find you?" She asked confused.

"We're going and er-" He looked as two of his workers walked in carrying various explosives. Pepper gasped out audibly, looking in horror and piecing together what was going on.

"No...No, no no! Please! You-You said you wouldn't. You said I had to be quiet during the call and I didn't... I never said anything. Don't do this..." Pepper explained feverishly, feeling faint. Justin grabbed hold of her arms and pulled her up. She looked at him fearfully at the prospect of what he was planning.

"I said I wouldn't kill him..." He whispered to her, as he walked he down the hallway. All along there were explosives lined up. "Mind your step." He added sarcastically. They approached the stairs and he pushed her forward slightly so that she'd walk down. She observed her surroundings to find that she was in, what looked like, a normal house. A house where anyone could live. All along the passage on the floor were a load more explosives. When she reached the bottom step, Justin grabbed her arm again and opened the front door. She saw a white van outside with the back doors open. He dragged her towards the van and pushed her inside. He followed, slamming the doors shut. Pepper edged back as far as she could go, in the empty space.

"Where are we going?" She whispered, her body trembling in fear.

Justin smiled in response. "To a new place - I love playing games with Anthony... And I said I wouldn't kill him. I never said anything about not severely injuring him."

Pepper frowned, hearing the engine start and the van moving down the bumpy road. She reviewed everything that he had said, but one thing stuck out more than anything. "You said that someone else wants to hurt Tony - who?"

"Just a good old friend of mine, He's in China right now - The Mandarin. But you'll see soon enough... You'll see."


	9. Chapter 9

**REVENGE**

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**Just to make it clear The Mandarin in not in this story. After this one, I'll be writing a sequel. After the sequel will be like, my version of Iron Man 3 where...dum dum dum...The Mandarin is :) So, It's sort of foreshadowing the events that are to come...**

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**CHAPTER NINE**

"What's the whole point of this?" Pepper asked bitterly. They been driving for nearly fifteen-twenty minutes Pepper thought and at a fast speed. Her stomach was in knots. As if the daily anticipation of whether or not Tony would come back alive was enough, now she was faced with the prospect of Tony being seriously injured. "What's your penultimate goal?"

"You're asking a lot of questions - Ever thought that I've intentionally left you in the dark for this, _Peps?_" Justin sneered at her, flipping his gun in his hand casually.

Pepper froze at Justin calling her that. Tony called her that on their last phone call. "Don't call me that." She said through gritted teeth.

"This will end with someone dying..." He warned her, pointing the gun at her tauntingly.

"You." Pepper replied quickly, staring at him icily with pure hatred towards him. She honestly couldn't foresee how this could possibly end. How would Tony trace her now that they have gone from the previous place?

"I'm not in the equation." He said, cocking his head to the side, observing the state of her.

"My baby is." She muttered softly, her hand gently resting on her stomach. It was so early onto the pregnancy and surely the stress wasn't going to help.

"Tough shit." He spat at her, with a smirk on his face. "You really think you can _touch my soul _and make me reconsider what I'm doing? Have a sudden epiphany?" He mocked.

"Where are we going?" She asked quietly, wanting to change the subject.

"Disneyland!" He said sarcastically, shaking his head in disbelief. "You know, for someone who is supposed to be smart, you act really dumb."

Pepper looked at him coldly. "I hope to god he kills you." She said with venom in her voice. "And I hope to god, you die _slowly_ and painfully."

He smiled at her, wagging his finger at her. "Harsh words - how will I ever sleep at night?"

Pepper looked away, closing her eyes, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She backed as far as she could in the small space they were in and tried to concentrate on something else, anything apart from this situation...

_THREE WEEKS AGO..._

_"Tony?" Pepper called out, walking outside by the poolside of the mansion. It was night and the views were stunning. She shivered slightly. He had called her earlier asking her to meet him by the pool and to wear that backless dress._

_"Hey." He said softly. She turned around to see him walking towards her, wearing a suit and carrying two drinks in his hand. He held one out for her to take which she did. She had a sip and smiled slightly. _

_"Vodka Martini?" She asked him, grinning. _

_"Very dry, with three olives - bit late, but time-keepings not my strong suit." He replied winking at her._

_"Tony, You didn't have to-"_

_"-I know, I know. But, I wanted to. I can be serious when I want." Tony said, placing his hand around her waist. "I wanted to do this before I go."_

_"Go? Where?" Pepper asked, frowning, taking a gulp of her drink. _

_"Bad guys in Canada." He replied, raising an eyebrow._

_"Canada?" Pepper repeated._

_"Yeah. Rhodey's sort of waiting so..." Tony said awkwardly, downing the rest of his drink. He looked her up and down. "That's a very nice dress. I do have good taste."_

_"You do." She said smiling. She sighed slightly and looked up at him. "You better go... Will that be all Mr Stark?"_

_Tony kissed her lightly on the lips. "That will be all Miss Potts."_

"Something's wrong..." Natasha muttered, loading her gun in the passenger seat. Her and Phil had been driving for the past fifteen minutes and were nowhere near Sacramento. Tony and Rhodey had just gone without even planning how to attack. She frowned looking at Phil. "He made it...too easy to find him. For someone that's planned this, it's not right.. "

Phil looked at her briefly, raising his eyebrows. "Tony won't listen and-"

"-Rhodey will." She replied quickly.

"Are you and him an item?" Phil asked curiously, with a slight smile.

Natasha frowned shaking her head. "As much as you and your Portland Cellist are."

Phil chuckled. "That never would've worked out for me."

Natasha smiled slightly. "I just have a bad feeling about this. My intuition always right."

Phil sighed slightly, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "Me too. We'll hear soon enough any way."

"Sir, the house is just ahead of you." JARVIS said into Tony's ear. Tony landed softly on the ground and motioned for Rhodey to join him.

"This is it." Tony said, holding out his right palm, walking forward.

"Tony, where you're going in?" Rhodey asked.

"Front door. I'd hate to intrude." Tony replied, breathing shakily. "Rhodey, could you stay up in the air above, let's say ten-twenty feet up, so you've got vantage point?"

"Going up." Rhodey replied, flying his suit up in the air. He hovered there, watching Tony silently.

Tony fired up his pulsars and aimed for the door. The door flew off and Tony saw a glimpse of several explosions lined up. He felt his blood run cold and his stomach twist in fear. It all went slow. He couldn't move. Common sense dictated him to move, fly up, just get the hell out of there. But his mind was in Pepper - was she in there?

"SHIT! Rhodey - Go!" He shouted, before being flown back by the force of the explosion. The hot air burned through his suit and he felt himself being hurled backwards full force until he collided with the solid ground. The pain vibrated through him and he lay there gripping onto consciousness. He could hear the faint murmur of Rhodey in his ears, but the ringing overtook it. _They weren't there..._ He thought weakly. He was stupid and brash enough to just rush in...not planning...His eyelids became heavy and he let the darkness consume him, regretting that he didn't listen to Phil and Natasha.

Justin's phone vibrated and Pepper looked up frowning. She watched him as he looked at his phone and chuckled out loud. He looked up at Pepper and she held her breath.

"Good news... The explosions have been set off. Looks like your boyfriends sizzling." He said to her, a smug look on his face.

Pepper gasped softly, blinking back tears. She felt an foreign amount of rage and hatred rush through her body and before she even realised what she was doing, she quickly got up and lunged towards him throwing her fist at him, trying to cause any damage she could. Justin fell backwards and yelled out loud to the driver. She heard the brakes come to a halt and the van stopped moving. She quickly kneed him in the groin before stumbling up and opening the van doors, she quickly jumped out to turn around and see one of Justin's men standing before her. She felt something solid connect with her head before it all went dark...


	10. Chapter 10

**REVENGE**

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**CHAPTER TEN**

Tony blinked, gingerly opening his eyes and observing the surroundings. He blinked several times, seeing his wardrobe. He turned to his left and looked at Pepper's earring, realising that he was back in his mansion. He groaned slightly, slowly sitting up and stretching his toes. He could hear muffled voices in the other room. He leaned forward holding his head in his hands, trying to remember what happened. _The explosion... How did I get here?_

"What..." He muttered, wincing when standing up. He lifted up his top to see he had a bandage on his stomach. He frowned ripping it off, to see a giant gash there. He inhaled sharply, gently putting it back on. He walked towards the door and opened it, trying to find the source of the voices. _Kitchen... _He thought to himself. He felt hung-over. He dragged himself through he passage and walked into the kitchen to see Natasha, Phil and Rhodey all in deep conversation. They all turned to look at him with wide eyes. Rhodey walked forward and took Tony's arm, leading him to a chair. Tony sat down sighing heavily, feeling a wave of nausea rush over him.

"How are you feeling?" Phil asked him, handing him a bottle of water.

"Thanks." Tony muttered, unscrewing the lid and taking a huge gulp. He placed the water down and looked at them. "I feel like crap. How am I supposed to feel after being in an explosion?"

"We had SHIELD agents examine the remains of the house for any evidence." Natasha announced, leaning against the counter.

Tony froze, feeling his stomach twist and his blood run cold. "A-and?" He asked, trying to keep his voice steady. He held his breath, praying she wouldn't say the worse.

"We found nothing." She replied. "They must have left prior to when you arrived. We have JARVIS trying to pick up any Satellite images of the van, but no luck so far."

Tony exhaled in relief, drumming his fingers against his leg. "How'd I get here?"

Rhodey cleared his throat. "I carried you back. Well, we flew. But I carried you." He said awkwardly.

Tony squinted his eyes at him. "How romantic... Did you play nurse with me as well?" He asked, pointing at his stomach.

Rhodey rolled his eyes, smiling slightly. "No... Erm, Natasha called in some Doctors from SHIELD."

"Diagnosis?" Tony asked.

"Just a cut, some bruised ribs." Phil answered.

Tony nodded. "So, what do we do now? Guitar hero? Karaoke? Just forget about Pepper and have a kitchen party?" He said bitterly.

"Look, Tony, we're doing everything that we can-" Phil started, before Tony stood up.

"Whatever. I'm gonna lie down cause I feel great. Seriously, I've nearly got blown up and now I'm full of energy." He said sarcastically, feeling like he was going to break down any second.

"We'll call you once we hear anything, man."Rhodey said softly.

Tony nodded. "Mm hmm. Sure. If anyone tries to molest me while I'm sleeping - Rhodey - I'll kill you." He said, before walking out, leaving the three of them just looking awkwardly at each other.

Tony slammed his bedroom door behind him and walked over to the bed, slowly laying down, wincing at the pain in his stomach. _I'd give anything to get you back Pepper... _Tony swallowed, blinking back his tears, mentally quizzing how much he's changed. The Playboy? _Not so much anymore..._

* * *

Pepper inhaled sharply as Justin slammed the door behind him, the heavy thud echoing through the room and the pain vibrating through her head. She had woken up half an hour ago to find herself in a dully lit, stone cold room. Once again, no indication of where she was. She had a strong suspicion that she was either in a warehouse or in the basement of some house. She had woken to an excruciating migraine and the cold stare of one of Justin's guards. Now she sat in the corner of the room, looking up at Justin with pure hatred.

"Morning sunshine!" Justin said loudly, pacing around the room. Pepper groaned slightly, clutching her head. Justin tilted his head to the side, smiling. "Don't like me talking loud?" He asked, in an even louder voice.

Pepper gritted her teeth. "My head hurts..." She muttered. "No thanks to you."

"My dick hurts..." He replied sarcastically. "No thanks to _you._"

Pepper stood up, keeping one hand on the wall for support. "What do you want?" She asked. "You've hurt Tony, he doesn't know where I am - now what?"

"If you're expecting me to go into one of these 'bad guy monologues' where I foolishly reveal all my plans to you, then you're wrong." He snapped at her.

"So what's the point?" She asked him through gritted teeth, growing frustrated of him. "What, you're just going to keep me here? Kill me? Taunt Tony even more? What?"

Justin walked towards her, taking his glasses off and cleaning the lens on his jacket, before placing them back on. She froze, trying to move away from him before mentally cursing herself when she found herself backed against a wall. Justin smirked at her, planting his arms either side of her. She craned her face away from him, feeling sick at the close contact.

"How about... If you do whatever I want you to do...I'll let you and Tony live?" He whispered in her ear.

Pepper swallowed, repeating the statement in her head. _Let Tony live? _"What?" She asked weakly.

He chuckled, tracing his hand on her stomach. "And I'll let your baby live as well..."

"What?" Pepper asked again, shuddering slightly at Justin mentioning her baby. She felt like punching him, but the last time she did that she got hurt even more. She thought through her situation, if she hurt Justin and tried to get out, the odds would still be against her. No doubt there are tons of his guards outside.

"Sexually." He said to her. Pepper inhaled sharply as he lightly kissed her cheek. He leaned away from her, observing the disgust on her face. She looked at him, with rage and hatred in her eyes.

"Drop dead." She whispered shakily at him. He chuckled shaking his head.

"I was afraid you'd say that... That only leaves one other option..." He said pulling out his phone from his trouser pocket.

Pepper frowned at him. "Who are you calling?" She asked as he stepped back from her. She moved to the side, wanting to get as much distance from him. She looked up at the camera in the corner of the room, feeling disgusted at being watched.

"Anthony." He replied. "I'm going to ask him for his suits" He taunted. "...and his money...and to meet me. Here."


	11. Chapter 11

**REVENGE**

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**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

Pepper clenched her fists, as Justin flipped his phone in his hand, looking at her. "Don't..." She muttered weakly.

He stopped flipping his phone and smiled. "Don't what?" He took a few steps toward her. "Huh? Don't what? Don't ring Anthony?"

"It's just going to be the same thing all over." She replied, her voice wobbling. "You're just going to hurt him..."

Justin chuckled and clapped his hands together, in a mock applause. Pepper frowned at him. "Bravo Pepper! You _finally _figured it out... despite the fact that I've mentioned it several times before!" His voice was raised now, stepping closer to Pepper.

Pepper shook her head at him, swallowing the lump in her throat. "At the end of the day, you're going back to jail and we are going to carry on living our lives." Pepper looked down, racking her brain trying to think of a solution. " If you let me go... I'll testify for you in court. I'll-"

Justin took several steps forward until he was right in Peppers face. "You dumb bitch!" He yelled at her, she hunched her shoulders, physically shuddering. He grabbed Peppers face forcing her to look at him. "How about you just stay missing? I'll dump your baby on Tony's doorstep? Huh?" Pepper tried to move away and he grabbed her slamming her into the wall, she let out a groan of pain, looking up fearfully at him. "It will be a _lot _of fun to have female company... Just imagine all the things that we coul-"

Pepper let out a grunt and hooked him in the face. She let out a gasp, from the pain that vibrated in her hand and she ran back to the opposite side of the room. She watched him, clutching the side of his face, breathing heavily. She looked at the door, considering running out but knew fine well, she'd stand a better chance of surviving staying where she was. Pepper stood up straight, bracing herself as Justin retained his posture. He looked over at her, laughing.

"Oh, Pepper." He chuckled. "Impressive...Very impressive. I take it Tony taught you how to throw a punch." He chuckled again, wiping his glasses on his shirt.

"He also taught me how to use a gun, so watch your back. " She replied coldly.

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small gun, he held it out in front of him. "Get it." He said, tilting his head at her. Pepper swallowed, but stayed firmly where she was. He huffed, putting the gun away. "Thought so. Now, since you're so adamant against me ringing me up, I have an offer."

"What offer?" Pepper asked through gritted teeth, knowing what he was going to say. _You sick man!_

"Sleep with-"

"-Go to hell!" She spat at him, before he finished what he was saying. He looked at her with disbelief. He got out his phone and looked back up at her.

"Pity." He said, wagging his finger at her. "Now...be a good girl and stay there. I'd hate to shoot you without Anthony watching." He began dialling the number as Pepper watched apprehensively.

* * *

Tony groaned as he rolled over, sighing heavily. He stared dully at the ceiling, fighting the urge for a drink. _The brilliant Tony Stark! _He thought rottenly to himself. _Billionaire... Vain...Superhero...And can't protect the one person you've ever selflessly cared about..._ He groaned, shaking the thoughts out of his head sitting up.

"Tony!" Phil called. "Phone!"

"Philly!" Tony replied, shouting back at him. "Pick it up."

He heard footsteps getting louder, before the door flew open. He looked up at Natasha who looked at him angrily. "It could be Hammer." She said coldly to him.

Tony kicked off his shoes and laid back down on the bed. _What's the point? _ He looked up at her. "Pick. It. Up. Then."

Natasha took a step forward, giving him a dangerous look. He could hear the phone ringing in the background. "If I have to drag you there, I will." She threatened.

Tony held up his hands in mock surrender. "Oh fair maiden, thou does not threaten thee!"

She gave him a dark look before walking over to him and grabbing his arms, roughly shoving him to the floor. "Get up!" She demanded to him.

Tony let out a hiss of pain. "In case you forgotten, I was involved-"

"-In an explosion. I know!" She snapped at him. He slowly got up, leaning on his bed for support. He looked her square in the eyes. "Get over yourself, Tony. Justin still has Pepper and if you gave a shit about her-"

Tony held up his hand, cutting her off mid sentence. "-I _do _care about Pepper. Don't you dare suggest otherwise." He said firmly, his eyes darkening.

Natasha turned around, heading out of the room, muttering to herself in Russian. Tony sighed, running his hand through his hair, before following, making his way into the kitchen. He walked in to find Phil holding out the phone for him to pick up.

"JARVIS is going to run a trace." He explained to Tony.

"I'm not answering it, I did that earlier, we got a trace and I fell into their trap." He looked around at them. "Deja Vu anyone?"

Rhodey growled slightly and snatched the phone out of Phil's hand, pressing the loudspeaker button."Hello?" Rhodey asked.

"Put Anthony on the phone." Justin drawled. JARVIS began running the trace, whilst Tony shook his head.

Rhodey gave Tony a dirty look. "You'll have to speak to me first."

"You're the robin to his batman?" Justin mocked.

Tony leaned forward and grabbed the phone from Rhodey's hand. "No." Tony said. "Our suits don't have nipples."

"Funny!" Justin said sarcastically, forcing laughter. "So funny! Aren't you just a blast, Anthony...speaking of which, how are you?"

Tony inhaled sharply, clenching his fist. "I'd be more worried about how _you're _going to end up." He spat at him.

Justin chuckled back, sighing dramatically. "Let's get to business. Here's the deal. I have your girl. I want you to bring all bank details and your suits - all of them."

Tony straightened up. "Tell me the time and place, dear, we'll make it a date."

"I'm sure you have your ridiculous AI already tracing me." He replied.

Tony let out a huff. "I don't think you've realised what deep shit you're in." Tony said coldly.

There was short pause on the line, before Justin cleared his throat. "I don't think you've realised, _Anthony, _what state you're going to find your girl in. I'm trying, I really am, but I don't think I can keep my hands to myself anymore..."

"You-" Tony began, before he heard the dialling tone. He let out a slight growl hurling the phone towards the wall, sending it shattering into pieces. "JARVIS! Tell me you've got the trace!"

"Sir." JARVIS replied. "I've got their location. They are in a warehouse, approximately fifty miles from here."

"You two better get in the car, might get there in time with us." Tony said to Phil and Natasha. He turned to look at Rhodey. "Let's suit up."


	12. Chapter 12

**REVENGE**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, added the story to their alerts and as a favourite :) Hope you enjoy the next chapter :D**

**Remember - Read, Review and Enjoy :)**

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

Natasha sat in the passenger seat, reloading her gun whilst Phil sped along the road, beeping at the cars to get out of their way.

"How far are we?" She asked Phil, putting her gun on her holster.

"Ten minutes away. You want backup?" He replied.

Natasha inhaled sharply, looking out of the window. "Not yet... We'll see how things go. Keep them posted, surround the area within a ten mile radius."

"Five miles would be better. Still unseen, but can easily be called upon if we need the back up." Phil said.

Natasha nodded and put her hand to her ear. "Tony? Do you copy?" She asked into her earpiece.

"Look up and make a wish." He replied. Natasha frowned and looked out of the window seeing both Tony and Rhodey in their suits, flying ahead above of them.

"You have to keep us updated. If Justin pulls any tricks at all, inform us at once, backups are in place. " Natasha demanded.

"Copy That." Rhodey replied.

* * *

Tony and Rhodey landed softly on the ground and looked over at the warehouse. It was small in size, so finding Pepper wouldn't be a problem. They did a double take when they saw three guys carrying a massive gun at the entrance. They motioned for them to come over.

"Tony..." Rhodey muttered. "This doesn't seem right..."

Tony looked at him. "You need to go."

Rhodey stopped and looked at him in disbelief. "What? No, man, I'm not gonna-"

"-They're going to shoot you cause I'm only supposed to be here." Tony looked back over at them and looked at Rhodey. "Go with Natasha and Phil, wait ten minutes then do your thing. I got my earpiece so you can hear everything. Go!"

Rhodey inhaled sharply before going in the opposite direction. Tony turned and walked over to the men, warming up his pulsar. He approached them and grinned.

"Hey guys!" He said, holding out his hand.

"You fire at either one of us and a bullet is going through your girlfriends head." The guy to the left said coldly, motioning to a camera at the end of his gun. "Smile for the camera."

Tony gave him a cold look, before motioning to the door. "Lead the way then."

"Out of the suit." The guy said, pointing the gun at him. "If you give two shits about your girlfriend, get out of the suit."

Tony inhaled sharply. He could easily fire down these guys, but by the time he finds Pepper, she could be dead. He sarcastically smiled at the man before taking his helmet off and letting JARVIS do the rest. The two guys watched silently as the suit removed itself from Tony and assembled into a briefcase. The guy to the left picked it up and walked away, round the corner. Tony inhaled sharply and looked at the stocky guy that remained.

"Lead the way sunshine." Tony muttered, before being hit across the side of his face, with the gun. He grunted as he spat out some blood and looked back at him, motioning with his hands for him to go. The guy walked forward and Tony followed into the warehouse. The space was big, he looked around until he spotted a chair with Pepper tied up on it. He let out a sigh of relief in knowing that she was still alive.

"You're still alive, Pepper." He whispered, making sure that Rhodey could hear him through the earpiece.

"That's good - Try and keep it that way." Phil responded back in his ear. "Backups in place, say the word when you're ready."

Tony walked forward until the guy stopped him, so that he was about fifteen feet away from Pepper. On closer inspection he could see that her face was bruised. She looked at him through tired eyes and weakly smiled. Tony looked behind him and counted eight guards that were in place. He looked forward and laid eyes upon _him._ Dress so smartly, with a smug look on his face.

"Anthony! Look at you buddy." He shouted mockingly. "How was the journey here - fine? Got my money?"

Tony inhaled sharply and reached into his pockets, pulling out a piece of paper of which he had written down all his account details. He dropped it to the floor.

"Oops!" Tony said sarcastically, taking a few steps forward.

"Tony - he has a gun!" Pepper shouted at him, making his halt in his steps. He looked at Justin who brought out a gun from his jacket and hovered it by Peppers face, before slapping her. She grunted and hissed in pain, looking at Tony, tears filling her eyes. Tony clenched his fists and looked at Justin.

"I am going to fucking kill you." Tony spat at him.

"Oh, Anthony... Loosen up. Me and _Virginia _have been doing a lot of that..." He walked over, behind her chair and placed his hands on her shoulders, rubbing her arms. "We've also been doing a lot of this."

* * *

Phil sat in the car waiting patiently, humming along to the lyrics of Katy Perry. He jumped slightly when he heard someone pounding on the door and saw a big guy with a gun in his hand. Phil sighed and opened the door, stepping out.

"Stay right there!" The guy shouted at Phil, aiming his gun at him.

Phil sighed and quickly grabbed his taser, firing at the guy. He sighed slightly when the guy fell to the floor and yelped in pain until he was unconscious. Phil walked to him and grabbed his gun putting it in the boot of the car. He walked back towards him and grabbed a pair of handcuffs from his jacket.

"If you don't mind..." He said to the unconscious man, placing the handcuffs on him. "I was listening to a really good song."

* * *

Natasha ran forward to where Rhodey was standing, hidden round the corner away from the view of the guards outside the back entrance.

"You heard?" She asked him, glancing round the corner checking how many guards there are.

"She's alive - for now." Rhodey replied, looking around. "I gotta get in."

"Back entrance is the best option, but you're not exactly discreetly dressed." She said, looking at his armour.

Rhodey sighed looking at her, dressed in her jeans, looking like any normal citizen. "Do your thing."

Natasha walked round the corner and started running towards the men, halting when they aimed their guns at her.

"Oh my god!" She said breathlessly, looking innocently at them. "Please don't shoot me - I'm lost."

The three guys walked towards her, looking her up and down. One of them walked in front of her and chuckled.

"Okay, Babe..." He said in a cockney accent. "I can find you a real special place to go-"

He grunted as Natasha kicked him in the groin before round housing his in the head, sending him flying down. She flipped backwards and punched the second guy in the face before sliding down on the floor and sweeping her foot out tripping him up. He grabbed his gun, but she quickly kicked him in the head, knocking him out. She jumped up and ran towards the other guy, jumping up and kicking him square in the temple, letting his skull collide with the ground. She grabbed his gun and aimed it at them, checking they were all unconscious. She put her hand to her ear.

"Targets down." She said breathlessly, looking at Rhodey.

* * *

Tony looked at Pepper, a shiver running down his spine and tears filling his eyes. He felt the emotion truly overtake him. He felt that for once, he has realised the seriousness of the situation. No more jokes. Pepper was pregnant. He could be a father. Yet one wrong move on his behalf and that's it - game over. He let out a jagged breath and observed Peppers face, which was covered in bruises. Her eyes were filling up too and Tony felt as if time had stopped, within that second they both looked at each other. He forgot about the suits, Hammer. He forgot about Phil, Natasha and Rhodey who were nearby. He forgot about the gun is Justin's hand and his henchmen around him. He felt a twist in his stomach and he thought about the reality of the situation. Tony didn't want to live without Pepper. His life, would have no meaning without Pepper. He cleared his throat and looked at Justin.

"So what now?" He asked through gritted teeth, not wanting to show his weakness.

"You choose." Justin said with a smirk, flipping his gun around in his hand.

"Choose what?"

"Pepper. Your unborn Child. Or You."

Pepper looked at Justin in fear, realising that Tony would never choose her. "No..." She whispered hoarsely. "No! Tony! Don't, please, please..."

Tony stood up straight and blinked back his tears. Outnumbered, no suit and even he tried to summon his suit it wouldn't save Pepper. "Me."

"TONY!" Pepper screamed. "Please, No. Please! Please!" She sobbed, breathing rapidly as Justin raised the gun.

"Pepper..." Tony said, looking at her letting a tear roll down his cheek, hearing his heart beat rapidly in his ear.. "I love you." He breathed out.

"How sentimental" Justin spat at him raising the gun. "I have waited a long time for this... _Anthony."_

* * *

"Shit - No." Rhodey muttered, firing up his pulsars, rushing into to the building.

"Rhodey don't!" Natasha said grabbing his arm. "They'll both die."

"Nobody has to die..." He muttered back to her. He held a hand up to his ear. "Tony, I know you can hear me, goddamn it, don't do this! Say the word we'll go in. It's not impossible. Please. C'mon."

"Sorry pal." Tony whispered, his voice trembling.

Natasha and Rhodey held their breath, waiting for any sound to come from the earpieces. Phil sat in the car waiting patiently, holding his breath. The atmosphere was tense and they just waited until they heard it...

A shot, followed by a scream.


	13. Chapter 13

**REVENGE**

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**Hope you enjoy the next chapter :) This chapter is being told all from Pepper's perspective. **

**Read, Review and Enjoy :)**

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

"Pepper!" Tony shouted as she fell to the floor, the pain exploding all over her. She clutched her hands to her stomach, watching in horror as they quickly covered in blood. All the pain that she thought she felt previously, being hit, being threatened, thinking Tony was dead... None of this matched up to how she felt at this moment in time...She let out a sob and craned her head to look at Tony, who was breathing rapidly, his fists curled by his side and staring at Justin with fire in his eyes.

Justin chuckled taking a few steps towards Tony. "I am a man of my word." He sneered at him. "The genius billionaire isn't as smart as he's made out to be. Pity, Anthony, it's such a shame." He held the gun up level to Tony's head, finger on the trigger. Pepper blinked away her tears, looking at Tony, who looked back at her and winked.

"What?" She whispered lightly, frowning. As if on cue, the door behind Tony blasted open knocking down one of the guards. Rhodey, suited up and Natasha ran in taking down all of the guards. She watched as Rhodey swiftly knocked out the guards with one punch and as Natasha swiftly knocked them down, avoiding their punches. Her eyes flickered over to Tony as he ran forward towards Justin, skidding down on the floor avoiding the bullet that Justin had fired. Tony kicked his leg out, making it collide with Justin's knocking him down. Tony let out a yell and jumped up, kicking Justin in the stomach. Pepper's eyes widened when she saw Justin discreetly pull out a knife from his trouser pocket.

"Tony..." She whispered hoarsely, trying to forget about the searing, burning pain in her stomach. She inhaled sharply as Justin drove the knife into Tony's leg, causing him to topple over. Justin then got up and began kicking Tony in the stomach.

"You. Have. No. Idea. What's. Going. To. Happen!" He grunted at him, with every kick. Tony rolled over to the side and gritted his teeth, tearing the knife out of his thigh and with a yell dove it into Justin's leg.

"Fuck You!" Tony yelled at him, kicking the knife further in. Justin let out a gasp of pain and fell over. Tony grunted and got on top of Justin punching him repeatedly in the face. Pepper watched in curiosity and disbelief as Justin first tried resisting, letting out gasps of pain, but Tony's face scrunched up in anger and carried on hitting him.

"Tony..." Pepper whispered. Justin lay limp as tony kept on punching him his hands bloodied. Pepper coughed and Tony looked up at her, breathing rapidly, frowning at her, as if forgetting where he was. He stood up and went to walk towards her, before stopping suddenly and wiping the blood on his hands on trousers. Rhodey and Natasha walked towards Tony, all the guards unconscious on the floor.

"Come in, Now!" Natasha shouted into her earpiece. " Bring a medic."

Pepper weakly smiled as Tony kneeled down next to her. She put her hand up to Tony's face, savouring the moment. "You're here." She whispered lightly, her face scrunching with pain. She let out a slow breath, trying to forget about the pain in her stomach. It was truly agonising, it spread all over her making her mouth hurt when she spoke.

"Of course I'm here!" He said shakily, letting a tear drop down. He inhaled sharply, taking off his jacket and placing it by her stomach, applying pressure. He turned behind looking at the various SHIELD agents that walked in cuffing all of the guards and Justin Hammer's limp body. "SOMEBODY GET A MEDIC!" He screamed at them.

"Teaching me to punch properly came in handy..." Pepper whispered. She observed Tony's face. His dark, thoughtful eyes and the bags from the previous days that weighted under them. "You're really here..."

"Ssh..." Tony said lightly, kissing her lightly on her lips. He reached down and lifted his jacket up from her stomach, breathing deeply when he saw how the blood quickly absorbed into it, he folded it over and placed the clean side onto her stomach. "Shit... You're gonna be okay - may have to take a few days off work." He lightly joked.

She let out a slight laugh, letting a tear roll down her cheek. "I-" She began to say, before she closed her eyes letting the darkness consume her and ease her pain... She could hear Tony repeatedly calling her name and someone shaking her. _Open your eyes, Pepper... _She thought trying to convince herself. _Say something back... _ She let herself daze off into a haze of memories... Remembering when she first met Tony, how their friendship slowly built, the day when she thought he died in Iraq, when she discovered he was Iron Man, the events at Monaco, the whole New York incident with the Avengers. She wanted so badly to cling onto those memories, using the love that she felt for Tony to say something back, but she just let out a deep breath and let herself slip into unconsciousness, thanking god that the pain has finally gone...


	14. Chapter 14

**REVENGE**

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**The next chapter is the epilogue.**

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**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

Pepper exhaled slowly, blinking against the harsh light. Her head was pounding and she felt numb. She could hear various voices and the soft hum of an engine. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around, her eyes focused on the man standing next to her.

"Phil?" She muttered slightly, before closing her eyes once more...

_Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep_

Pepper exhaled slowly, turning around and opening her eyes. _I don't remember falling asleep..._ Pepper frowned and her eyes focused on the hospital machinery next to her. She coughed slightly and slowly sat up wincing at the slight irritation on her stomach. Her eyes widened as she remembered what had happened. She quickly shoved the covers off and lifted up her hospital gown seeing a bandage on her stomach. She looked up and observed the room, noting the camera in the top corner. _This isn't a normal hospital... _She thought as she saw various people walking by. She closed her eyes, concentrating on her breathing and replaying the previous events. She felt safe in this place. She looked at the flowers that were on the side of her table and smiled. _Where's Tony? _Her attention was drew to the door when it opened. She smiled politely when Natasha walked in and took a seat next to her.

"Justin Hammer is locked away in a secure facility. He won't be getting out until he's dead." Natasha said matter-of-factly, looking at Pepper.

Pepper inhaled sharply. "Are you sure?" She asked, her voice hoarse. Natasha nodded, getting a bottle of water out of a mini fridge opposite her, handing it to Pepper. Pepper smiled at her and took a sip, relishing the fresh taste. "What kind of hospital has a mini fridge in the room?"

"You're at a SHIELD hospital. We have managed to keep the media out of the whole situation and we intend to keep it that way." Natasha explained.

Pepper looked at her frowning. "Did I come here on a helicopter? Because I woke up briefly and I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or... I thought I saw Phil?"

Natasha smiled at her. "Phil's alive. We have some of the world's best medical staff. That's how we managed to stop too much blood loss."

Pepper froze slightly, remembering the searing pain. She needed to ask the question even though she inevitably knew the answer. She exhaled out loud, racking her brain for more questions to ask to avoid the penultimate one.

"Where's Tony? Is he okay? What about Rhodey?" Pepper asked.

"Tony had to have a medical check-up, Justin stabbed in his thigh, but it's not a serious injury. Right now, he's being debriefed by Director Fury - so is Rhodey." Natasha said calmly. She stood up walking slowly around the room.

"Did _he _say anything?" Pepper asked tensely, her eyes filling up with water at the memories.

Natasha inhaled sharply, turning to face Pepper and folding her arms. "You want to know everything he said?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Pepper nodded. "Right. Well, he was surprisingly honest. He said he did everything out of a need for revenge - and jealously. Jealous of what Tony has and he doesn't. He made it very clear that he has no regrets over what he did."

"Okay..." Pepper muttered. She placed a hand on her stomach, preparing herself to verbally ask the question. Natasha walked towards her and sat by the side of her. "Has-" Pepper cleared her throat, wiping away the tears that fell. "Did the-Am I still... God! I lost the baby didn't I?" Pepper gasped out. She exhaled shakily, frowning to herself.

Natasha gently took her hand and gave her a sympathetic look. "You were shot in the lower abdomen. You lost it instantly."

Pepper felt a lump in her throat and the pit of her belly twist. She felt like her heart was physically in pain. "That's it. Never again. I can't have a family..."

"No." Natasha said in surprise. "That's the silver lining. We have the best medics and by some miracle you can still get pregnant. There's a higher risk of miscarriage but... Well." She stood up walking towards the door. "I'll give you some time, Okay?"

Pepper nodded, staring at her belly. She rolled over to the side and grabbed onto her pillow. _Was I even ready to have a family? _She thought weakly, sobbing into the pillow. She let out a muffled yell and let all the pain, hurt and lost out, feeling as if her heart had been ripped out. She lay there hyperventilating in between her sobs, wondering If her and Tony would ever be the same again.


	15. Chapter 15

**REVENGE**

**So this is it! The end! :( I've enjoyed writing this fanfiction so much and am sad now it's finished :( **

**I'm tempted to do a second part - what do you guys think?**

**Read and Review + thank you for all your support thus far :D**

**:D **

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

**EPILOGUE**

_**Two Weeks Later...**_

Pepper sat outside by the pool, leaning back in her chair and enjoying the sunshine on her face. She looked towards the mansion windows, trying to see if she could see Tony. The past two weeks had been hard, no doubt. After being dismissed by the SHIELD hospital, she had been plagued with nightmares of the previous events, constantly waking up on the verge of tears. It wasn't hard just for her, of course, the events have taken a toll on Tony. Just two days ago he expressed to Pepper how heartbroken he felt about the loss of the baby, but felt the need to point out that perhaps they weren't ready to have a family. Pepper exhaled slowly, taking a sip of her champagne and admiring the view which she had taken for granted previously. Since coming back home, Pepper had started admiring and appreciating the little things in life. The things that she so desperately craved for when she was kidnapped by Justin; The sunshine, food and the stunning view of the sea which she hadn't admired as much before.

"So... I was going to cook" Tony announced walking out with two white bags. Pepper smiled watching him, take the food out of the bags. "But, I'm a better superhero than a cook. So- Chinese?"

Pepper inhaled the aromatic scent of the freshly cooked chicken. "Delicious." She commented taking a bite. "Mmm." She looked up at Tony, who sat down staring at her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm not." He quickly retorted, to which Pepper raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I am. I'm worried."

Pepper sighed, putting down her fork. "Tony-"

"No, listen." He said, placing his arms on the table, leaning towards her. "I really care for you, okay? I care for food and fast cars, but I care for you more and I don't think you have any idea, how worried I was... I was scared."

"I'm here now." Pepper whispered. "I'm worried about you too, I mean when I was _there _he mentioned the-"

"-Mandarin, Tangerine. We've already had this conversation." He brushed off.

Pepper tutted. "What if he is a serious threat?"

"Pepper. I'm Iron Man. I have hundreds of enemies and an orange isn't going to scare me." He said sarcastically, smirking.

Pepper sighed, picking up her fork and taking a bite of the food. "Thanks for this." She muttered.

"S'okay. I gotta jet off soon." He replied.

Pepper nodded, internally wanting one day when he isn't going place, just one day when he isn't Iron Man. "Where?"

"Bangkok. Suspected weapons being illegally built- yada yada." He said, muffled, chewing his food. He looked up at Pepper, who stopped eating and just stared at her food. He cleared his throat and stood up, walking around to her. "Up."

"What?" She questioned, frowning at him. He shook his head and grabbed her arm, helping her up. He walked her over to the edge of the cliff where they stared out at the sunlight glistening in the crystal blue sea. She sighed happily, placing her head by his chest. "It's beautiful."

"I know I am." He joked, squeezing her closer to him. "I don't think we would've been ready." He muttered.

Pepper froze slightly at him talking about the baby. "I know." She quickly said. "We will never be ready... because of what you do. The enemies you have and I'm stuck in the middle."

Tony sighed out loud. "It's not intentional." He said, kissing her lightly on her hair.

"I sometimes feel like we're growing apart." Pepper reluctantly said.

"How can we be when we're hugging?" Tony replied. "We're not." He said firmly. "I love you, Pepper." He said softly, silently feeling relieved for saying it out loud.

Pepper smiled, feeling her heart skip a beat. Maybe it is all in her head that they're growing apart, maybe Iron Man isn't coming in between their relationship. Maybe it will all be okay. "I love you too, Tony... I love you too."

**THE END...**


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